This invention relates to sound barriers, and more particularly to an improved sound absorption panel adapted to be used in association with other similar panels in a barrier for reflecting and absorbing sound.
Sound barriers of this type are particularly adapted for use in controlling noise generated by road traffic, but it will be apparent from the following description that the invention could be employed in other situations such as industrial applications to shield noisy machines, sound barriers at airports and similar applications.
The unwanted sound from vehicles, airplanes, and machinery is commonly referred to as noise. In urban areas noise from transportation sources has been a perennial problem, and typical solutions have included wall-like structures placed along the perimeter of the noise source to separate the noise source from adjacent residential or other living areas. For a number of years now the principle attempt at reducing noise has been to reflect the noise back into the generating source or up into the atmosphere, but as the congestion of space has become greater, this approach has merely redirected the noise to a different area without abating it. The most recent attempts at abating transportation noise have included noise absorption devices for absorbing and reducing the transmission of noise from the noise generator to surrounding adjacent areas.
Most noise absorbing panels known to applicant have heretofore been made of relatively soft, porous and fibrous materials in order to absorb the sound which has resulted in panels of limited durability, particularly when installed in adverse environmental locations and under conditions where the panels are expected to endure for extended periods of time.